NEW YORK -- Juan Soto's return to Yankee Stadium in a Mets uniform Friday night went just about as he expected: with loud, relentless boos and chants from scorned fans still offended by his decision to choose the Mets over their team during the offseason.
"I was ready for it," Soto said after the Yankees beat the Mets 6-2 to open the Subway Series. "They're really passionate fans and they're a little hurt, and they're going to do the best for their team, and they just feel that way."
All game, whether he was in the action or not, Soto heard a chorus of boos and chants directed at him. Most chants were vulgar. All the boos were loud. After partnering with Aaron Judge to create one of the most productive duos in baseball history and lead the Yankees to their first World Series in 15 years in his only season in the Bronx, he was the center of attention from beginning to end Friday.
And Soto -- whose 15-year, $765 million contract is the richest in North American sports history -- was prepared for it.
Soto, 26, stepped to the plate for his first at-bat in the first inning with a plan for the vitriol. Instead of ignoring the inevitable rancor, he was, after some prodding from teammates, going to playfully acknowledge it.
So while thousands of people stood to jeer him, he smiled, took off his helmet, tipped it to the crowd, touched it against his chest and mouthed, "Thank you."
"We were just joking in the dugout that I should do it, and I just did it," Soto said. "Guys loved it."
Minutes later, the Bleacher Creatures, the celebrated group of staunch fans in the right-field bleachers who serenaded Soto with "Re-Sign Soto!" chants last season, turned their backs to him when he took his spot in right field in the bottom of the first inning. Soto said he didn't notice them.
"I was just listening to the boos," Soto said. "I tried to not have any eye contact. I just listened to the boos."
Between the lines, Soto's return was rather quiet. He walked in his first three plate appearances, scoring the Mets' first run on Brandon Nimmo's single in the fourth inning. Soto grounded out in the seventh inning and flied out to center field with two runners on base to end the game. He emerged with a .252 batting average and .845 OPS through his first 44 games as a Met.
"Every time he's at the plate, we feel good," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "Didn't come through today, but that's the guy you want there in that spot. He'll be fine."
Defensively, Soto failed to throw out a runner at home on Anthony Volpe's 243-foot sacrifice fly in the third inning. Later, in the eighth, he caught a fly ball for the third out and tossed the ball over his head into the seats behind him. A fan threw it back onto the field, igniting passionate cheers.
There were more cheers when Soto made the final out, ending an eventful night the 47,700 people in attendance anticipated.
"It's just another game," Soto said. "It's real [unfortunate] that we couldn't get the win. I don't focus at all on fans. We got to focus on the game and be a professional, try to win a game. Yeah, it sucks that we lost the game, but we have two more to win the series."